Chapter 12: The Chaos Storm
Enerjak(Regime):(orders the Echidna warriors) Make haste, my brothers! The Rose Fleet will pick us up within the hour. Flame Legion, take the swordfish ships. Frost Legion, take the manta ray ships. The rest of you, come with me to the whale shark flagship. (Regime Knuckles had been in control of the Echidna race for years now, even after they tried to take him in for questioning after bonding himself with Dr. Finitevus's hex on the Master Emerald. However, Knuckles managed to not only kill the Echidna government in response, but the leaders of the Echidna Dark Legion and the Brotherhood of Guardians as well. Now Knuckles, as Enerjak, ruled the Echidnas with an iron fist, and nobody dared question his position of power....Until today that is. At that minute, Mainstream Knuckles glided in the air and landed near the altar of the Master Emerald, staring at his Regime counterpart who stood on top of a broken pillar.) Knuckles:(shouts) Enerjak! It's game over! For your plans, and your Regime! Enerjak(Regime):(turns to his Mainstream counterpart and floated off the pillar towards the ground) So, duplicate me, we meet again. If you think you can defeat me for a third time, you're terribly mistaken. Knuckles: What? Enerjak(Regime):(grasps his fists and suddenly released a surge of tremendous Chaos Energy upon himself) The last time I faced you, I only used a small fraction of my powers! The reason why I lost to you twice… My power was almost depleted from years of battle with the Insurgents. I needed to replenish all of my energy, so I took some time to recover with the Master Emerald.(His power continued spreading like a violent wind into nearly god-like proportions) And now that I'm fully charged, it's time we get over to the real fight. Knuckles: You mean… You were weak because you wasted amounts of Chaos Energy? Enerjak(Regime):(chuckles) Yeah, well… You know, Knuckles, it's been a while since I've had to use my godlike powers.(his voice interrupted into triumphant laughter) You have no idea how happy I am. The thought of using such incredible power…! I must confess, it's GOOD being a god! But don't sweat the details… I'm still going to smash you up! Knuckles:(gets ready) Not if I smash YOU up first! Enerjak(Regime):(his body furiously surged with Chaos Energy) Come on! I dare you! I'll sink my fists into your body until you can take no more!(sees Knuckles jumped into the altar and landed straight on top of the Master Emerald) What are you doing?! Knuckles: Something an old friend of mine did for me before. I'll return the favor by doing the same for you. No matter what, I won't give up the life my friends fought to save!(his voice changed to determination) I'll set this right! It's my duty! My responsibility!(With a roar, Knuckles channeled the energies of the Master Emerald towards his body, the black hex surrounding it ineffective against him.) Enerjak(Regime):(gasps) No… Impossible…! He used my own power against me?!(With a powerful flash of light that's too blind for the Echidna warriors to see, Knuckles rose from the ground, his skin pulsing from red to pink. Enerjak was shocked) Hyper… KNUCKLES?! Hyper Knuckles:(eyed Enerjak with a confident smirk) NOW we're even. And what Sonic used to say, I'm going to beat the evil out of you! Enerjak:(his fists pulsed with powerful Chaos Energy) Prove it, then! (With that, the two Echidnas collided with their fists, waves of Chaos Energy spreading throughout the skies like wildfire. Hyper Knuckles struck first, shoving Enerjak's body at lightning speed away from Angel Island and into a faraway desert. Hyper Knuckles released his grip on Enerjak afterwards, and the two looked each other in the eye, still floating in the air.) Hyper Knuckles:(smiles) Just like old times. Enerjak: You're insane! Hyper Knuckles:(crosses his arms) It's over, Knuckles. Do yourself a favor and give up. Enerjak:(yells) Never! I'll never surrender to an imposter like you! And don't you dare call me by that name. It no longer has any meaning to me. Hyper Knuckles: You stain the honor of the Guardians with your rule and violation of heritage. We are to temper this planet's aggression, not enable it. Enerjak:(shooks his head) That wasn't optional. After New Mobotropolis, Sonic showed me and the truth; this planet's aggression cannot be tempered, only quelled. Hyper Knuckles: By slaughtering the innocent?Just like when the old me was tricked by Eggman into thinking Sonic stole the Master Emerald, your Sonic plays you like a fool. Enerjak: Your world's Echidnas must be weak-willed if YOU were their leader! (With that, Enerjak threw a Chaos-powered fist at Hyper Knuckles, who caught the fist and countered with a knock to the chin.) Hyper Knuckles: The Guardians' duty is to PROTECT Mobius.(Enerjak tried swinging his other fist around, only for Hyper Knuckles to dodge and punch back. However, Enerjak managed to block, but that didn't stop Hyper Knuckles from putting every ounce of power into pushing back) We are to give service! Help the innocent!(Enerjak pushed him away and tried firing blasts at him, but Hyper Knuckles simply punched away the incoming energy blasts and grabbed his counterpart by the wrists) Save the lives of both friend AND foe! THAT is the way of the Guardians, and the way our ancestors' legacy should be upheld! Enerjak:(enraged) You would lecture me?! On what it means to be a Guardian?! Hyper Knuckles: I don't seek to lecture.(pushes his duplicate away) I seek to depose! (Super Stage: Hyper Knuckles vs. Enerjak! Begin!) (both were equally matched with power, speed, and chaos energy. It was then that Enerjak realized he reached his limits. Once again, he drained tremendous amounts of Chaos Energy during the battle, leaving him famished.) Enerjak: I don't have much left in me. I must return to the Master Emerald for more…(flies off, intending to reach Angel Island to replenish his Chaos Energy). Hyper Knuckles:(shouts) Oh no, you don't!(chases after his retreating Regime counterpart. Enerjak was about to reach Angel Island, but Hyper Knuckles stopped him with a punch to the face) The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart.(Hyper Knuckles focused all of his energy into one technique) The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.(His right hand glowed with an illuminating light) Only you can do this! Master Emerald! Give me the power…(Enerjak was shocked to the core)…to release Knuckles from this evil! Enerjak: NOOOOOOOOOO!(screamed at the top of his lungs as Knuckles' glowing hand pierced his chest……and the dark hex that engulfed the Master Emerald dissolved into light, restoring the gemstone to its green, beautifully shining state). Knuckles:(Reverting to his normal form, Knuckles lowered the unconscious body of Enerjak, now restored to a normal Knuckles) Now to rebuild what you've destroyed.(Despite the defeat of his counterpart, the Echidna warriors surround him at gunpoint, trying to protect Regime Knuckles) Hold, my brothers! Hold! While I am not of this world, I am still pure Guardian. And thus, I am still worthy to talk to you! I tell you now, this path you're following is wrong!(The Echidnas were confused, but they kept on listening while he points at his counterpart) This Guardian has enabled one Mobian to inflict his rage on an entire planet. Let him be consumed by his darkest passions, rather than extricate him from despair. I ask you, what is to be gained from following his plans of genocide? Have we really come to revert to our primitive ways as wild animals like it was ages ago? Or do we still remember the teachings our ancestors taught us?(The Echidnas stood down and looked at the ground, regretting their decision. Knuckles knew he was gaining their trust) Brothers, Let us return to the right side of history. Let us enter battle, not as Mobius's destroyers, but its protectors. We are Guardians. We are here to save Mobius. Let us honor our ancestors the way they would have wished to be honored!(pumps his fist into the air)Let us fight free once more!(All of the Echidnas erupted into cheers and applause, heeding the words of the Mainstream version of Knuckles. Just then, a myriad of airships from the Rose Fleet descended from above, catching the attention of every Echidna on the island) Amy:(speaks through a loudspeaker) Hey, guys! Anyone need a lift?(Unbeknownst to all, Regime Julie-Su silently observed the scene from the jungle, with a face of regret and tears flowing freely from her eyes) Julie-Su(Regime):..... I must head back to Finitevus.(teleports back to the battle between The Regime and The Insurgency). Category:Sonic Injustice: Gods Among Mobians